Thermofax Screen Printing - Repeat Printing Part 1

Hi everyone! I’m Terri Stegmiller and for the month of October I am going to share how I repeat print with Thermofax screens. In today’s post I will share how I prepare my screens and work surface.

When I first thought about printing in repeat to create some fabric yardage, I researched, searching the Internet, and found very little information on the process. There are definitely people who are doing this, but as far as tutorials go, not much to be found. What I did find, I soaked up and filled in the blanks with my own idea of how it was done. The process I started with is definitely not the exact process I use today, but with most techniques we tend to tweak them as needed to perfect them for our needs and surroundings.

The process I’m going to share in my October posts is one I use with both Thermofax screens and larger silk screens. While these two types of screens are used in the same manner they are created differently. My focus here will be on Thermofax screens. There are online sources where you can get your images made into custom Thermofax screens. One source is Etsy.com. You will find some Etsy sellers that offer this service.

My Thermofax machine

To create a Thermofax screen, I start with a doodle or drawing that I have scanned into my computer. Using Photoshop, I edit the image by creating a high contrast black and white image, size it to the dimensions I desire, and create a repeating pattern. I typically create what I call a straight repeating pattern or an offset repeating pattern and you can see examples of each of those below.

When you have your Thermofax screen made, it typically comes with a taped edge to aid in the use of the screen. You can use it like this with repeat printing, but I prefer to adhere it to a wood frame. I find that the wood frame provides a more stability for setting up and maintaining the repeat across the fabric.

Be sure to use a frame that is about the same size or larger than the taped screen. I like to use temporary tape, such as painter’s tape, to adhere the screen to the frame so that I can remove the screen and use the frame with other screens.

When taping the Thermofax screen to the wood frame, try to align it so that the edges of the design are perfectly parallel with the wood frame edge. This will help you achieve a more successful repeat. I like to use the grid lines on my cutting mat to aid in this alignment.

When taping the screen to the frame, be sure to tape around all edges on the bottom side so that no printing ink/paint can seep through and mark your fabric.

After you have taped your screen to the frame, you will need to prepare your work surface. I like to use a table that is 6 feet or longer. The tables I’m using are ones that fold in half for storage so they don’t take up so much space when not in use. A smaller table can work too, or you can push two smaller tables together to create a longer table. In my demonstration photos, I am working in my studio space inside my house and I have two tables pushed together where I am working.

On top of my table, I use a printing pad created from a sheet of foam insulation that I bought at my local home improvement store. These sheets typically are around 6 ft. by 8 ft. in size but you can easily cut them to the size you need with a box cutting blade or craft knife. I like the foam sheets that are thick, about 1” or more, because I pin into them and I don’t like when the pin goes all the way through the sheet and hits the table. I need the pins to be flush with the printing pad surface.

After cutting the foam sheet to size, I cover it with batting and then a layer of fabric. I usually use a layer of cotton duck cloth because it is very durable, but you can use inexpensive muslin if you prefer. I adhere the batting and fabric layers to the foam sheet by wrapping them around to the back of the board and taping with duck tape.

The next thing I do to prepare my printing surface is to add tape lines, using painter's tape. You can see in the photo below how these are placed on the printing pad. I use a long metal ruler to help align the tape so it is as straight as possible.

The tape line across the end (near the bottom of the photo above) can be placed on the right end or the left end of the printing pad. It just depends on the direction you prefer to work. I like my fabric to feed from the left, so I place the tape on the right end. This is an alignment aid which will make more sense when explained in a later post.

Coming up in Part 2 of Repeat Printing with Thermofax Screens - fabric preparation